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Upbeat verdict on NAB

Upbeat verdict on NAB

Attendance at NAB fell by 10% this year, but the panel assembled for RTS Thames Valley’s May event was largely upbeat in its assessment of the Las Vegas media technology show.

Neil Maycock, VP of global marketing at broadcasting solutions outfit Grass Valley, said clients were more interested in speaking to problem solvers in his company than looking at racks of kit.

“Vendors need to prepare well in advance to get prominent decision-makers and influencers to their booths,” advised Jennie Marwick-Evans, MD of broadcasting PR specialist Manor Marketing. “Gone are the days when vendors can just stand and wait for passing trade.”

BBC Newsgathering operations manager Sara Shepherd reinforced the idea of planning visits efficiently, and struck a positive tone on the benefits to the BBC as an innovator of working with small companies, as well as blue-chip outfits.

Norman Rouse, client services director at technology platform The Broadcast Bridge, was concerned that vendors’ IP knowledge ranged from outstanding to poor, with no one vendor supplying the whole production chain. Rouse said: “How do customers choose a range of vendors with the correct skills? And who can help then transition to IP? If, indeed, they should?”

Before looking back at NAB, the Thames Valley Centre hosted a “Diversity in the workplace” session. Kayte Burns from NEP, EditShare’s Danielle Hay and Sara Shepherd captured the attention of a mostly male audience. Chaired by Sadie Groom, the all-women panel spoke of their experiences of working in the broadcast industry.

The overall narrative was positive, but one story made the audience gasp. At a recent trade show, the female marketing director of a leading company approached a group of men to attend a meeting, only for one of them to tell her that they already had their badges scanned.